It would have been an awfully one-sided game if not for two players. But despite a massive advantage in both shots and scoring chances, the Texas Stars could not convert the way Jordan Eberle did, or stymie the opposition in the same manner as Yann Danis.

Ultimately the final score was 5-2, but Texas out-shot Oklahoma 44-to-27 (and 33-16 after two periods) and out-chanced them to boot. The top line of Eberle, Taylor Hall and Mark Arcobello drove the play for the Barons, but the Nordic Line (Magnus Paajarvi, Anton Lander, Teemu Hartikainen) was outplayed and the bottom two units didn’t manage to contribute much. On the whole, it was a mediocre performance by the team, but individual talent won the day.

#4 Alex Plante, 6. Fought heavyweight Luke Gazdic after the Texas enforcer took an ugly run at Teemu Hartikainen; ended up taking a double minor for roughing to Gazdic’s single minor. Took another penalty cross-checking Antoine Roussel at the side of the net, preventing a good scoring chance. Also did some nice work to break up a 2-on-1; I thought he played a solid game.

#5 Justin Schultz, 7. Picked up a goal, an assist, and made one of the worst giveaways I’ve ever seen, about two feet away from the crease. I’m giving him a hard time but his defensive play was up and down. His goal was a thing of beauty – he runs the point on the power play like no Oilers defenceman in recent memory, and his wrist shot is lethal.

#7 Jordan Eberle, 9. It would have been a very different game without Jordan Eberle, who turned everything he touched into gold. Over a little under three minutes toward the end of the first period he took three shots and scored three goals. Robbed in the third on what would have been his fourth goal. Also picked up the helper on Schultz’s power play goal.

#8 Nathan Deck, 6. He’s been a find for the Barons. Enjoyed another mostly solid game alongside Justin Schultz.

#9 Tyler Pitlick, 5. Played a physical game that included a couple of very nice hits early on 6’7” Jamie Oleksiak and 6’5” Gord Baldwin.Took two hard, accurate shots from places where he had no chance of scoring.

#10 Teemu Hartikainen, 4. Hartikainen was a target all night, drawing a slashing penalty from Antoine Roussel and that run from Gazdic. Did some nice work ragging the puck in the offensive zone and in front of the net on the power play but was largely quiet at evens.

#12 Josh Green, 5. Picked up the empty net goal from the defensive zone on a carefully considered shot.

#13 Curtis Hamilton, 5. Had one really nice shot on one of those shifts where Jordan Eberle was subbing in for the designated enforcer; didn’t get much ice-time.

#16 Anton Lander, 4. Judging by the number of times the other guys took offence to him, Anton Lander must be some kind of pest on the ice. Drew a boarding call early in the second period. His line with Hartikainen and Lander was badly out-chanced at even-strength.

#19 Magnus Paajarvi, 5. Managed his line’s one and only shot and had some nice puck carries but didn’t generate a lot offensively.

#21 Tanner House, 5. Had one nice 2-on-2 rush with Taylor Fedun while shorthanded – Fedun sprung House for the partial break, then House pulled to the side boards in the offensive zone and centered the puck while Fedun crashed the net. Not much ice-time.

#22 Taylor Hall, 7. Earned three assists, two of them primaries on Jordan Eberle goals, and had one especially nice shift on the fourth line in the third where he seemed to dance around with the puck at will in the offensive zone. The entire top line is something to watch right now.

#26 Mark Arcobello, 6. Picked up two assists on Eberle goals and had a pair of shots himself – one of them of exceptional quality. Continues to display excellent chemistry with Hall and Eberle, arguably meshing with them as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did.

#27 Taylor Fedun, 5. Oilers fans who never forgave Toby Petersen for being Craig MacTavish’s favourite 2006-07 Oiler got a bit of revenge when Taylor Fedun knocked him hard into the boards from behind. Played a relatively solid and once again low-event game with Colten Teubert.

#28 Martin Marincin, 5. I thought he looked effective on the third pairing, and had a calmer night with the puck than has been the norm for him of late.

#33 Colten Teubert, 5. A careless high stick gave Texas a a long two-man advantage late in the second period, but fortunately for Teubert the Stars employed ‘BLAST IT FROM THE POINT’ as their 5-on-3 strategy of choice and damage was averted.

#34 Dane Byers, 4. Might have had Josh Green’s empty net goal if not for an exploding stick. Mostly a non-factor.

#35 Yann Danis, 8. I debated handing out a second ‘9’ grade on Danis’ 42-save performance against Texas. It would have been a very different game without the veteran in net, as Texas out-shot and out-chanced Oklahoma. Danis was resilient, and a big part of the reason Oklahoma won.

#36 Erick Lizon, 3. Showed for the first time in Oklahoma that he’s a heavyweight fighter, dropping the gloves twice with Luke Gazdic. Both bouts saw lengthy pre-fight dances as each fighter abandoned his helmet and gloves, and both ended the same with: with Gazdik sitting atop a downed Lizon. Lizon fought Gazdic to roughly a draw before being wrestled down in the first encounter, and then got the worst of the second skirmish. None of that impacts his grade; rather that is determined by a dumb hit in the first period that somehow went unpenalized, and his seeming inability to make a pass even with time and space. (Digression: Given that Gazdic took a nasty run at Hartikainen in between the two scraps, I’m at a loss to explain what purpose Lizon’s fights with him served.)

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the “X” in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.